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Author Interview & Review: The Scoop on Nina Laurin

Nina Laurin is a young writer who is truly great at writing from a dark place. Her first novel, Girl Last Seen, came out just last year! And next month, her latest novel, What My Sister Knew, will officially be released! We were lucky enough to read What My Sister Knew and give you the inside scoop on it before it becomes available to the public. Check out our thoughts on it below:

Review of What My Sister Knew by Nina Laurin

Nina Laurin’s What My Sister Knew is a dramatic, suspenseful, incredibly thrilling novel that focuses on the sibling dynamic. She took a small idea of showing what it’s like to have a twin and turned it into something much larger and greater. This novel goes to an uncomfortable place and makes readers question if you should really stick beside your family no matter what.

The novel follows Andrea who has had a traumatic past. Her twin, Eli, who was once seen as “the golden child,” is responsible for so much incredible trauma in Andrea’s life. Andrea hasn’t seen Eli in years, but that all changes when Eli is released from prison after a thirteen-year sentence.

This novel is dark. This isn’t the book you go to if you want sunshine and rainbows to show up everywhere. That being said, it’s just one of those books that so twisted, but in all the right ways. It explores difficult subject in a thoughtful, humanistic way.

And I’ll be honest, thrillers have never been by go-to genre. However, there are some that are just irresistible. This novel is one of those enticing thrillers that is so fast-paced and intriguing. What’s best about it is that it’s not about some grand scheme. It’s about people, family, sibling dynamic. The psychological aspects and the people-focused storylines are what makes this story truly great. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves a good thriller, as well as anyone who simply just loves reading about people.

Q&A with Nina Laurin

After reading What My Sister Knew, we were able to sit down and talk to Nina Laurin herself! We learned more about her books, her love for reading, and her advice to other writers. Check it out here:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?

I’m lucky enough to be a full-time writer! I’ve dabbled in genres all across the board before I accidentally discovered I have a knack for psychological suspense and thrillers. So right now, I’m exploring that and it’s an extremely rich and versatile genre that’s so much fun to play with! So far, I have a psychological suspense debut out with Grand Central Publishing, and the follow-up, What My Sister Knew, leases this June.

When did you realize you had a talent and a passion for writing? What inspired you to be a writer?

It’s a bit of a cliché to say I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but in my case, that’s true. I’ve always been a big reader and would read anything I got my hands on, from children’s books to the detective and fantasy novels my mom unwisely left lying around. When I was seven or eight, I picked up a notebook and wrote a multivolume saga about how me and my friends ran away from home and survived on our own in the woods. (Naturally, it wasn’t very good.) And a mere twenty years later, I had a book deal!

Can you tell us a bit about What My Sister Knew and why you were inspired to write it?

What My Sister Knew is a very special book for me. Being an only child, I’ve always been fascinated by sibling dynamics, especially those between twins. And this book is no cute heartwarming tale. These siblings have one messed-up, dysfunctional relationship, and that’s before the pyromania aspect comes in. From the outset, I wanted to explore the theme of how far one would go in the name of shared DNA. I’ve toyed with the idea for this book for several years, and it took many different shapes before my editor at Grand Central rescued it from my pitches file. I don’t know where I’d be without her! She basically held my hand through the whole process, from outline to the final little edits, guiding this story towards what it is today.

You have another book too! Can you tell us about what you like to write in general and why you are inspired to write about the things you write about, including Girl Last Seen?

I lean towards darker topics in my books. GIRL LAST SEEN deals with some pretty heavy subjects, namely sexual assault and PTSD. My goal was not to gloss over them or their effects on a person. I wanted to keep it realistic, because let’s face it, most survivors don’t become ninja-vigilantes who kick butt, take names, and excel at twelve kinds of martial arts.

Why did you decide to write thrillers and suspenseful stories? What about that genre appeals to you most?

Thrillers and suspense seem to be my go-to genre whenever I hit a reading slump. It didn’t occur to me to try writing them, though. I always thought you had to have a protagonist who was in the police force or a detective or a private eye, and I wasn’t sure how to relate to them enough to write them well. But then, the domestic suspense novels started to become mainstream and I realized that you could write a thriller starring a regular person, just like me. (I’m kidding, I’m not prone to murder and complex psychological manipulation, unless I’m doing it to fictional characters).

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process and how you create your novels?

This is something of a controversial view, but I like to start with a detailed outline. I don’t know how anyone can write anything with a mystery aspect without one. So much of suspense depends on the slow buildup of detail and foreshadowing, dropping hints of what’s to come so that in the end, so the reader goes, “but of course! The answer was right in my face the whole time!” And I find it extremely hard to do when I don’t know what the answer is. So, I’m an outliner. If I come up with a better twist, it’s so much easier to change the outline than to rewrite half a novel. Also, following an outline results in a much cleaner draft with fewer pacing issues.

Which writer has inspired you the most and why?

There are quite a few! But I’ll have to go with Gillian Flynn, because she’s the undisputed master of the psychological thriller, and she’s not afraid to be dark and twisted. I also take a lot of inspiration from foreign thrillers, especially Swedish and French. I find that they’re less skittish when it comes to the darker aspects of the human nature and they don’t flinch away from the gruesome stuff (both physical and psychological). I have a lot to learn from them.

What has been the biggest struggle for you as a writer?

The waiting! Hands down, the waiting. Publishing is a waiting game: the query trenches, the submission process, everything seems to be designed to put your patience to the test.

What advice would you give to struggling writers out there who are trying to accomplish their dreams?

Like I said, the waiting is a nightmare, and the watching of the empty inbox never ends. So, find something to do while waiting, preferably something that keeps you away from your electronic devices with that handy email app. (Ideally, start writing something new, but disconnect the wi-fi while you do it.) Also, start a paper diary and write all your negative thoughts in there, so you’re not tempted to complain on social media.

Is there a fun fact about yourself that might surprise our readers if you were to share it with them?

If I wasn’t a writer, I probably would have gone into ballet. I love it to this day and I am a subscriber of the Grands Ballets Canadiens (the local company).

What do you want people to gain most from your novels?

I know my books are quite dark. I like to explore the ugliness that all people have within them, to an extent. It’s a big theme in many psychological and domestic suspense novels. But in the end, I always strive to give my readers a small hope spot, a possibility of redemption and a fresh start. Nobody is completely bad to the core.

Your career has just begun! Where do you see yourself going from here?

I have some pretty amazing things in the works, but as of this writing, I can’t talk about them yet! Let me just say, you haven’t seen the last of Nina Laurin in bookstores!

In the long run, though, I hope to have a career that spans years, if not decades, like Ruth Rendell or Louise Penny. Good thing I’m in this amazing, enduring, and ever-popular genre!

Do you have any final words of wisdom that you would like to share with our readers?

I started out as a nobody from nowhere with no connections in writing or publishing, and who lives in a non-English-speaking place to boot. Persevere, and never give up on your dreams.

To learn more about Nina Laurin, check out her website and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

And remember, What My Sister Knew, will be released on June 19th!

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